What about the use of the dictionaries? A person said for example that English dictionary hasn't worked good reading a English epub. Do they work normally? Even if I search for a inflection? (like "goes", "gone", "dogs" -> and the possibility to read the meanings of "to go" and "dog")

As is stated in the manual, there is only a french dictionary on the reader. For I don't understand french enough to navigate around I was unable to test the dictionary function.

I ordered the device on impulse (5pm), cancelled the order shortly after (3am), and after a full work day of processing my cancellation request (Friday), they shipped it Saturday or Monday (arrived Tuesday). Parcels usually arrive the day after shipping for me, Germany is just not that large compared to other countries

And when it arrived, I couldn't resist taking a closer look at it. So...

Small display comparison Story HD vs. Odyssey Frontlight HD.

Where the Story HD has pixels, the Frontlight HD has a blur effect, due to the extra light/touch layers which the Story HD doesn't have.

You don't really see a difference with the naked eye, and I'm still not sure whether the effect is a good or a bad thing.

The device as a whole is impressive. FrontLight is a great feature for people who need light (people who read everywhere including train/bus/airplane at night etc.). It's not really necessary if you only ever read at home (and have a good lighted environment for reading).

If you don't like touchscreens, which all modern and future ereaders are apparently going to have, this is probably the best compromise you're going to get (there are still page flip buttons on the sides). Books look nice, great for reading, and unlike the Story HD, a decent amount of settings for fonts, font sizes, screen refresh behaviour, etc.

However, I also had two device freezes not sure why, my usb connector was a bit odd, and the LEDs at the bottom were a tad too visible for me - you have to hold the device at an angle away from you. I ended up returning the device, and I'll stick to the Story HD for now despite all its shortcomings.

... / ...
However, I also had two device freezes not sure why, my usb connector was a bit odd, and the LEDs at the bottom were a tad too visible for me - you have to hold the device at an angle away from you. I ended up returning the device, and I'll stick to the Story HD for now despite all its shortcomings.

Thanks for pointing out the LEDs visibility and the necessity to position the device at a special angle. That would have bothered me to no end. Great review.

cons:
-the left button does not have the same feeling as the right button when pressed, which makes it feel a bit awkward. But it works perfect.
-Sometimes when the screen is tapped the page does not turn, and when tapped again (or sweeped, or button pressed) 2 pages are turned.
-Slow response in the library (but that was also my opinion of the Kobo, I guess Ereaders just are slow. the Odyssey is faster than the Kobo though!).
-If you push a button repeatedly, every push will have a reaction so you have to be patient and wait for the reaction after each push, or you spend a few minutes flashing through your library without any control over it.
-Very Crappy dictionary but it's ok I guess, I got one working that finds almost every word. Kobo was a lot better.
-There is a little grey shadowy area on the bottom of the screen when the FL is lit, but this does in no way interfere with the reading. Kobo was more uniform though.

My first impressions of the Kobo screen were mixed emotions. It looked very soft and clean but the letters looked more grey than black. And the background looked too yellowish without the Glo activated. Compared to this, the Bookeen looks really sharp, just perfect.
The LED's are more visible on the Bookeen than on the Kobo but I don't feel the need to alter my reading angle.

I dont care about PDF, I have a tablet for that. I also don't care about certain settings like 25 different front types and sizes or making both buttons "page forward",.... The more choice you have, the more doubts.

Overall: 8/10 (which is pretty amazing, I would have given my Kobo a 3/10)

It's only about user comfort and reading experience to me, not about 100 different settings and options, all for the same thing.

CONCLUSION:
I have fast access to any of my 3000+ books in the library, The screen is excellent, pages turn very fast. My battery life looks excellent too, I read a 200 page book and there is not one bar from the batterylife meter. So far I'm very happy with it. The only annoying thing is the occasional not responding of the screen to a tap.

Caution when ordering with Cultura: The advertise an original Bookeen cover (for 25 Euro), but send you an imitation. It still looks and feels nice but mine only fits for like 95%. So when I'm reading, my fingers automatically go looking for the parts that dont fit well, like a tic or something. Anyway I sent them an email and they didnt reply. So I opened a dispute on Paypal for this. They should give me a fair discount or send me the advertised product.

Ah, cover a bit too large?
Odyssey 2013 and odyssey HD have a slightly different case. And the over for the "old" version aren't an exact match. Noticed that when bookeen sent me one of the new version as a replacement. A bit annoying, at it hinders the buttons.
The new covers fits; did some test at virgin, the trick is making sure you get one of the new cover.

@Bookripper, I agree with everything, except that I don't know the Glo (I have a Kobo Touch though and can confirm that the Bookeen is way faster) and except your left button being different to the right, on mine they are identical.

@Bookripper, I agree with everything, except that I don't know the Glo (I have a Kobo Touch though and can confirm that the Bookeen is way faster) and except your left button being different to the right, on mine they are identical.

It's not my intention to slander the "Globo", it does have some better points here and there, but it's the only ereader I had in my hands long enough to make a proper comparison.

@EowynCarter: yep, it's too big. If you go to the Cultura website, they specifically mention the cover: " spécialement conçu par Bookeen "... On the picture showed on the webshop, there is a Bookeen logo on the front of the cover. But when I got it, the "Bookeen" logo was gone and it came in a package that said: "Cultura Cover for Odyssey". It also had a stitch loose. I don't like cheap tricks like this...

It's not my intention to slander the "Globo", it does have some better points here and there, but it's the only ereader I had in my hands long enough to make a proper comparison.

@EowynCarter: yep, it's too big. If you go to the Cultura website, they specifically mention the cover: " spécialement conçu par Bookeen "... On the picture showed on the webshop, there is a Bookeen logo on the front of the cover. But when I got it, the "Bookeen" logo was gone and it came in a package that said: "Cultura Cover for Odyssey". It also had a stitch loose. I don't like cheap tricks like this...

Oh, the bookeen covers do have a bookeen logo indead. That's weird. You should definitivlly take the issue with cultura.

I already did that. I contacted Cultura a few times earlier this month and they always replied fast and willing to help. Now they are ignoring me for 3 days already... That's just the way a lot of companies do bussiness. I'll give them a week or so to come up with something acceptable.
After that, they should realise that THEY are the sitting duck, not me

I have a cybook opus at the moment but I wanted a dictionnary for a while. Kindle is out because I must have epub support. I'm also quite used tu use side buttons to scroll pages. So I think I'll get the odyssey. From What I read, the only difference with this version is the frontlight and the screen resolution.
That doesn't seem enough to justify 30 euros for me, anything else I should consider?

Today I asked Bookeen for further availability of non DRM .mobi format support in Odyssey HD. There is no license problem and many persons (including me) may have the need to direct use .mobi books, press, articles and others. I wonder what would be the answer ...

Why do you think there is no licence problem? I could imagine that the problem is not the licence to display non drm mobi files but the licence to use the mobi reader. Maybe Amazon forbade Bookeen to use their mobi reading software in their newest devices. (It is such a cool feature that Gen3 and Opus can use a mobi and an epub firmware, I can't believe that Bookeen has abandoned this voluntarily).

I heared it is a license problem to use both: epub with DRM amd mobi with DRM. Bookeen said that in the time when two different firmware were available - one with mobi with DRM and another with epub with DRM. It was a problem. I do not think anything changes from the time. Many readers supports epub and mobi format together but only one format with DRM (mostly epub) - for example Pocketbook ...

I heared it is a license problem to use both: epub with DRM amd mobi with DRM.

Yes, this is a licence problem but you were asking for non DRM.

Quote:

Many readers supports epub and mobi format together but only one format with DRM (mostly epub) - for example Pocketbook ...

Many? And have you ever tried reading a mobi book on a Pocketbook? Pocketbook uses FBReader for mobi files and it does a very bad job. Besides other things you can't use any mobi dictionaries.

Bookeen has developed its own reader software (BooReader) based on the original MobiPocket Reader, which Amazon later bought. Obviously they are not allowed to use it in newer devices and maybe they have not the man power to develop a new independable mobi reader or to implement this feature into their epub reader. I personally don't find the lack of reading mobi files as a problem - you can always convert using Calibre.